Screw Magic and Other Abnormalities
by Isobelle Vaughn
Summary: Phasing gave Sam Uley Alpha status, a purpose to protect everyone in Forks, and a loving imprint, but it took away his freedom and choices. He's about to find out that there are some things too important for magic to erase. Sam/Bella, Twilight and NM AU


**SCREW MAGIC AND OTHER ABNORMALITIES**

**Chapter 1**

**Sam POV**

I wake up next to Emily. My arms are around her waist and we're spooning like an old, married couple.

There's that fucking pull again- the one having me clutching at her like she is my lifeline and my reason for living. I don't attempt to fight it anymore, because it'll make my fucking head explode and my heart squeeze.

The last time I took a crack at challenging the imprint resulted in scarring and blood and agonizing pain. There is no way I'll allow myself to hurt Emily again. The scars on her face and arm make me wince and ache every time I see them. For her, I have accepted a life full of furry half naked men, fucking blood sucking dead people, Elder meetings and an incessant need to protect everyone in Forks, and most importantly my imprint.

Anger and denial gets me nowhere- only to more torn shorts and clawing at people who are supposed to be important.

My body won't let me to get up until Emily does, so I'm still holding her, slick with sweat where our two bodies are pressed up against each other because I'm fucking 109 degrees. We don't bother to use blankets ever because they will just add to the heat and make it unbearable.

I asked her once if it bothered her that I will forever be burning her up. She said she stopped feeling the difference after we had sex. Huh. Must be the imprinting.

I hear her breathing becoming irregular, which means that she is waking up. My hands are trailing over her body already, and my dick is itching to be inside her. That's the imprint, too. My inner wolf wants to work on making pups whenever it gets the chance.

She turns over and smiles that content smile.

She is uncomplicated and content, and because of this, I am too.

When it comes to our love and future, she knows that I will always be there for her. Like I have professed several times daily since our mutual acceptance of the imprint, she is my center of gravity. I can feel the strings pulling my heart towards her and anchoring me to earth.

Whatever she wants, I'll give her, no questions asked.

I feel her getting wet- her eyes are lidded and they are begging me to stop teasing.

I always know what she needs.

When I enter her, I go hard and fast, because it's what she wants.

//~~~~~~~//

"Jared is going to be next."

I stare at Billy Black through the screen door. For a minute, I play with the idea of pretending to not know what he's talking about. Like maybe not acknowledging it will let Jared off the hook.

"How can you be sure?" My arms are crossed now. What I really want to do is punch something.

Billy is just sitting there in his wheelchair. His face is a mask but his eyes are resigned.

"He had to skip school and stay home today- burning up with a fever." He is clutching the arms of his wheelchair now. His knuckles are white and I can the see the sharps points where the bones are protruding. If he were a shape-shifter, the metal would have caved.

"How do you know it's not just a _fever_?" I'm glaring at him with one eyebrow raised.

After all, there is still hope. Just because someone on the Reservation is experiencing an increase in body temperature does not mean that he is about to fucking tear his clothes off and sprout fur and shit. A few months ago, Jacob Black came down with the flu and had to stay home for days. We all thought he was going through his change- his body was burning up so bad Billy was afraid to touch him. It turned out to be a false alarm. The flu subsided and Jacob went off to school, blissfully unaware that we were afraid he was going to become another one of the cursed.

Billy was so relieved he gave Jacob his old pickup truck to tinker with.

"He lashed out at his mother. Almost punched her when she tried to force feed him soup." Billy looked like he was going to either cry or throw up. Or maybe a little of both.

I inhale sharply, letting the truth of his words set in. My arms are still crossed but my hands are now in tight fists.

Jared is going to fucking phase soon.

Irrational anger is the telltale sign- especially anger towards family members and significant others. Quileutes respect the people they love above all others; the Elders are Gods, but family is worship. Mothers are treated with care, fathers with pride, and siblings with innocent, tough love. Jared lashing out at his mother is something that would have _never_ happened unless he is changing. His senses are developing at an alarming rate and his body is trying to adjust to his wolf counterpart. The pain is tearing his mind and body in two.

He is going to be another fucking werewolf, and he won't be the last. The Elders are expecting at least half the guys on the Reservation to phase while the Cullens are here.

The fucking Cullens.

My entire body shakes violently.

Billy and I are still separated by the screen door. He doesn't ask to come inside or for me to come out, and I don't blame him. He knows I can control my anger now but he doesn't want to take any chances.

I nod at him.

"I'll watch him."

He nods back and wheels back down the street. He doesn't thank me. I don't expect him to because there's nothing to thank.

If we had a choice, I won't be ready to phase and guard Jared's house tonight. I won't be waiting for him to crash through his window on all fours, trying to figure out what kind of _thing_ he just fucking turned into.

It's happening. Just like it happened to me two years ago and what happened to Paul months ago, it'll happen again to those physically able to handle the wolf.

//~~~~~~~//

I take Emily to _La Bella Italia_ because it's her favorite restaurant in Port Angeles. I'm dressed in slacks, button-up shirt, and a nice jacket.

I'm even wearing a fucking tie.

Emily looks like sex in her little strapless dress. I want to skip the meal and head right to bed, but there's something important I have to do tonight.

She orders a garlic pasta dish and I go for steak.

I used to hate the smell of cooked garlic, but Emily likes it. I don't mind the smell anymore.

When I take out the little Tiffany's box, my hands aren't shaking and I'm calm. My body is hot, but not from nerves or anxiety- it's the shirt and tie that I'm not used to wearing.

I already know how this will turn out.

Her eyes are wide when I pop the box open and she sees the ring. It's the one I caught her looking at on her computer a week ago. Gold band with a large, white diamond surrounded by mini diamonds. It's a beauty and cost me a shitload, but it doesn't matter because she's smiling that content smile. Her eyes are tearing up and she chokes a little when she says _yes._

I'm smiling this fucking big smile because I can feel her joy through our connection. Marriage is something she craves, and I want to make her happy.

That night, she wants to take things slow. I take my time tasting and touching her in all the places that makes her moan and squirm. When she comes, she cries out _I love you_ and I am content.

//~~~~~~~//

I look down into the ocean. It's fucking dark and enormous and I can't see anything but midnight blues and charcoal grays. The water is far below the cliffs and it's impossible to judge where I will land.

It should be fucking scary but I _know_ this water. It is _my _ocean.

All I can think about is feeling my body sink almost painfully into warm-then-cold water. Two minutes and 37 seconds later, I will break through and pull air through my lungs, but in that time, I will be surrounded by _weight_ and _nothingness_ all at the same time.

The cold will feel like ice once it wraps me up and drags me down to where there is no light. My senses will be dead- no sounds but the whirring in my ears, no taste or smell because I can't breathe, nothing to see but hazy blackness.

It is significant.

For two minutes and 37 seconds, I belong to myself. It is _my_ time to choose my future.

I can welcome the silence and the cold that is like a balm for my hot skin, or I can fight my way through the ice to take in much needed air.

I'm not sure which is salvation.

//~~~~~~~//

I run into her at the Thriftway. She's standing there in the cereal aisle, trying to decide between Special K and Coco Puffs.

I already know which one she'll choose. Even though she wants to eat healthier, she can't curb her cravings for chocolate-y, sugary cereal in the morning. Her mother is huffing and puffing, mentally shouting at her to hurry the fuck along but she doesn't give a shit when she's staring at her Coco Puffs.

I can't help but smile.

She is unapologetic like that- always speaking her mind, doing her own thing, no bullshit.

She is a bit of sugar and a whole lot of spice. It's part of her beauty.

I'm still smiling when she turns and sees me, and I'm thinking it's a bad idea to be caught smiling like this because her eyes harden to ice and she grips the box of Coco Puffs so hard it caves under her hand. Or it can be just seeing me in general.

I stop smiling but it doesn't help. Her body is tense and for a minute, I'm kind of afraid she'll throw the box of cereal at me in the middle of the store. I don't want to upset her, even though I know I'm doing it already. I'm an asshole.

Her mother is not a big fan of me either but she tries to be polite.

"Sam."

"Hello, Sue."

I glance away from her to the beautiful girl with the hard eyes and clenched hands.

"Leah."

I kind of breathe out her name because I'm nervous now that she is looking at me. She doesn't say anything but her lips are tight and her eyes are piercing.

"I hear you got engaged. Congratulations." Sue tries to sound pleasant but the grimace can't be helped when she glances over at her daughter.

"Thank you." It comes out quickly because I want this conversation to end. No good will come out of talking about my engagement with them. Leah is spitting with her eyes and I know she wants to hit me again. I can still feel the slap she delivered two years ago, when all the hurt started.

She is a thinner than before in the way that makes me want to feed her and hug her at the same time. There are bruises under eyes, which means she's still having nightmares. About Emily and me. She cut her hair. It used to be long and silky and I spent running my hands through the strands while she slept. Now, it's to her shoulders and I miss her old hair but it's fucking irrational for me to feel this way because I have no fucking right.

I did this to her- the eyes, the hair, the nightmares.

I want to make it better but it's a hopeless wish because there is no way I can. No matter how many times I apologize, the hurting will continue and she won't forgive me.

I can't forgive myself either because I don't fucking really understand it all, not even after two years of being with Emily. She is everything to me because it's what I feel every second, but there are things that don't make sense.

I _remember_ the feelings for Leah and I_ remember_ what we had together, but that night on the beach after I saw Emily, I couldn't _feel_ those things anymore. They were just gone. And then, my entire existence pointed to Emily.

That shit is not normal and sometimes I catch myself resenting what I have become and what I did to Leah, but then I feel guilty because I love Emily and she's waiting for me with dinner and a tumble in bed.

When Leah and her mother walk away, I feel that resentment bubbling again followed immediately by the guilt.

I walk out of Thriftway, unable to remember what I'm doing here.

//~~~~~~~//

It's another bonfire night on the Rez. I have to pass the time like always- sitting away from the fire with Billy, Charlie Swan, and Emily.

I can't help but wish that things are easier so Emily can mingle like she wants. She is too nice and outgoing to not make friends- and people love and praise her here- but there are still a few close to Leah who give us shit about being together. I want to talk shit back because Emily doesn't deserve the fucking glaring and sneers, but I don't entirely blame them for being spiteful either.

They can jab and spit at me all they want. Fuck, sometimes I shit at myself for how things went down.

Billy and Charlie are talking about some car. Emily and I aren't really listening because we're busy laughing a group of boys who are trying to get some girls to go skinny-dipping. Horny little bastards.

"Jacob finished restoring it this morning." Billy says between mouthfuls of beer.

"Just in time, then." Charlie Swan clinks his bottle with Billy's and chuckles. "She's gonna love it."

"When does she fly in?"

"Next Sunday."

Charlie has this big smile on his face, which is actually fucking weird to see because he is the more "speak with his eyes" type of guy. I'm now paying attention to this conversation.

"Don't bust up your face smiling like that," Billy teases.

"Can't help it. It's been- what- three years since she last came here?" The smile is still on his face, and I think it's getting even wider.

I stroke Emily's arm. She's starting to fall asleep.

"I think so. Three years," Billy smiles back, "She's staying for good this time?"

I wonder whom they're talking about.

"Yeah, she is…at least until college," Charlie chuckles, "The kid can get into an Ivy League if she wanted."

I keep stroking Emily's arm as her breathing deepens.

_Ivy League._

"Jacob's been asking about her. I think he's impatient for his mud-slinging partner to get her," Billy's smirking at Charlie, "But I don't think he's really about throwing mud at her anymore."

Charlie raises an eyebrow at him.

"He better watch it around Bella. I might love him like a son, but he's still a boy, " He frowns, "A sixteen years old boy."

Billy laughs.

"I'm sure you'll have your shotgun ready."

They start planning another fishing trip.

_Bella_.

I frown. The name is familiar but I don't know why.

"Sam?" Emily mumbles into my chest.

"Hmm?"

"It feels good when you're stroking my arms. Don't stop." She trails off at the end and falls back into her dreams.

My hands go back to running up and down her arms.

//~~~~~~~//

**Have you ever felt that the life set for you is not the right one? Too easily given to you? No room to make mistakes or your own choices? **

**What do you think about Sam so far? Let me know in your reviews!**

**Bella will appear soon.**

**FIC REC****: Alpha Fail by lifelesslyndsey – Best Sam/Bella story I have ever read. Fuckhot Sam imprinting on a snarky Bella. Perfection. **


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